American Renaissance
ENGL 4610/12746 Martin 236 K
Bill Vaughn MW 1-2; MTW 3:30-4:30
TR 12:30-1:45 543-8720
Martin 223
Texts
Emerson, Ralph Waldo and Margaret Fuller Selected Works (Houghton Mifflin)
Hawthorne, Nathaniel The Blithedale R0mance (Bedford)
Melville, Herman Moby-Dick (Dover)
Stoddard, Elizabeth The Morgesons (Penguin)
Thoreau, Henry David Walden; or, Life in the Woods (Dover)
MissionAs a cornerstone of the institution for over 130 years, the University of Central Missouri's Teacher Education Program develops teachers and other school professionals who are well grounded in theory, display competence in content knowledge and instructional strategies, and possess the dispositions to ensure success for all learners. The Teacher Education Program prepares individuals as professional educators for an ever-changing, culturally diverse population. Faculty and candidates provide support and service to schools in meeting their present and future challenges by developing communities that learn through research and scholarly activities. Educator preparation is a campus-wide responsibility, a commitment that reflects the honor and worth of serving a vital profession.
Description
This class examines a small number of works from the period of American history leading up to and including the Civil War. For more than half a century now, scholars have conceived of this era as a uniquely rich one, and even
non-scholars—or, for that matter, non-readers—can typically name several of the period’s major figures, whether or not they’ve ever accessed their texts. To a certain extent, then, our class will investigate why this period bears the cultural purchase it does. (Ideally, we’ll also consider this matter meta-critically—that is, we’ll investigate the nature of the profession’s own constitution around this small body of work.)
In pursuing our larger goal, we will think about our six authors in terms of a recurring set of concerns. For example, we know that the period encompassed by this class was also one which evidenced tremendous religious energy. What is the status of faith in our various texts? How is faith perhaps redirected toward cultural criticism and social reform? How is it contested relative to skeptical methodologies? What sorts of secular and/or humanist alternatives do these works posit or reveal—particularly in terms of what some of our authors would think of as “self-culture” or “the conduct of life”? What historical concerns or anxieties emerge within and among our texts? What can these works tell us about our evolving orientation toward the material world? How do they capture or argue for the country’s overarching democratic desires? And as pieces of writing/rhetoric, how do they formally challenge the shape of American literature?
As part of the department’s assessment of majors, all faculty have been asked to include in their upper-level course syllabi a statement about the Goals for English Majors listed in The Survival Guide for English Majors. This class addresses a number of Literature, Expression, and Research Goals. Level 1 of the Literature Goal will be addressed through exams and weekly writings; Level 2 through the article summary and research paper (all of these items are described below). Level 1 of the Expression Goal will also be addressed by our major papers, since these assignments are designed to be staged compositions. All three Levels of the Research Goal are intended to be addressed in writing these longer papers. The beginning (pre-service) English 9-12 teacher will demonstrate knowledge of and/or competency in the following MoSTEP competencies:
1.1 the interrelation of reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
1.2 effective oral and written usage.
3.1 reading processes (pre-, during, post-).
3.4 techniques and strategies for the ongoing development of independent
vocabulary acquisition.
3.5 how to locate and use a variety of print and non-print reference sources.
3.7 how to help students think critically about what they read.
3.8 methods for promoting personalized reactions to reading and the value of
sharing those responses.
4.1 a broad range of pre-, during, and post-writing strategies to generate
meaning and to clarify understanding.
4.2 varied methods of argument, types of appeals, and persuasive strategies
in writing and speaking.
4.3. use of evidence and documentation.
4.4 composing processes used to prepare information to share orally, visually,
and/or in writing.
4.5 different organizational patterns and strategies used for writing and
speaking for different audiences and purposes.
4.7 how to respond to film, video, graphic, photographic, audio, and
multimedia texts.
4.8 technology used to enhance learning and reflection on learning.
4.9 how to help students develop the capacity to listen so they comprehend,
analyze, consider, respond to, and discuss spoken material, non-fiction,
fiction, dramatic works, and poetry.
Participation
Our class will feature substantial discussion, and I will keep track of the raw number of days an individual participates. (Participation means relevant
on-topic observations and questions.) At the end of the semester, I will total these performances and weigh them in terms of a standard scale, where, for example, participation across 90% of possible meetings will correspond to an A, etc. This mark will amount to 20% of the final grade. Please come to class excited about the material and prepared to talk! Classes like the ones you are taking now are valuable experiences—make the most of them.
Weekly Writings
Approximately once each week, we will take time in class to write briefly on a topic I’ll provide. In part these will be opportunities to reflect on our recent discussions; in part they will serve to initiate new conversations; and in either case, they will be occasions for you to practice manipulating ideas. These exercises will be evaluated on a credit/no credit basis, where credit entails writing thoughtfully and appropriately to a suitable length—and avoiding excessive presentational miscues. An individual’s grade for this part of the course—weighted at 20% of the overall figure—will be determined in terms of the percentage of credited performances out of the total.
Research Paper
Because we will be focusing on such a small number of texts, I am requiring each student to supplement our reading with a research paper that illuminates either the career of a relatively minor writer or the significance of a major work in the period not covered in the syllabus. I will be happy to suggest topics; regardless, I must approve them. This paper should reflect your familiarity with basic introductory materials—e.g. encyclopedia entries, anthology headnotes, introductions to standard copies of the author’s work—relevant current scholarship, and the primary material itself. You will be expected to make copies of your paper for your classmates. This assignment will count toward 20% of the final grade.
Article Summary
You will also be asked to read, summarize, and evaluate a piece of (fairly) recent scholarship. Whether you are going on to a career in secondary education, further graduate school, or good old informal lifetime learning, you will want to develop an appreciation for the living nature of our discipline. To that end, I will ask that you select an article from one of the primary journals in our area (e.g. ATQ, ESQ, The New England Quarterly) and learn the material well enough to summarize it adequately and comment on its strengths and weaknesses. You will select your essay in consultation with me, and we will emphasize works that deal in whole or in part with material we are otherwise covering in class. To prepare this assignment, you will need to make two photocopies of the article—one for me and one for you—and consult with me at least twice: once, briefly, to verify the article is acceptable; and one other time to review your understanding of the piece in advance of submitting the finished summary/evaluation. There is no strict length requirement for this essay. It will be graded in terms of accuracy, thoroughness, and thoughtfulness—with the last of these indicating at least in part some ability to connect the article’s claims with one or more aspects of our class. This paper counts for 20% of the final grade.
Final Exam
Our final exam comprises the remaining 20% of your grade. It will be designed to allow us to reflect upon and refine the insights we have been generating across the other aspects of our class (i.e. readings, discussion, research, writings). You will be able to draw upon your notes and previous work but in so doing you must demonstrate a capacity to make connections across our material. We will have many opportunities this semester to practice making and supporting claims while integrating, quoting, and citing evidence. The essay responses you will write for this exam should exemplify the progress you have made in manipulating information and expressing yourself accurately and professionally.
Other Policies and Suggestions
In general, I will expect you to uphold the seven principles of UCM’s Community Creed as well as the basic expectations and regulations of the university.
Plagiarism may result in a final grade of F in this course.
Schedule
8/19
introduction
8/21
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nature, pp. 23-58
8/26
Henry David Thoreau, Walden, from “Economy,” pp. 1-45
8/28
Thoreau, Walden, “Economy”-“Solitude,” pp. 45-90
9/2
Thoreau, Walden, “Visitors”-“The Ponds,” pp. 90-130
9/4
Thoreau, Walden, “Baker Farm”-“Winter Visitors,” pp. 130-174
9/9
Thoreau, Walden, “Winter Animals”-“Conclusion,” pp. 175-216
9/11
Margaret Fuller, Woman in the Nineteenth Century, pp. 299-348
9/16
Fuller, Woman in the Nineteenth Century, pp. 348-395
9/18
Fuller, Woman in the Nineteenth Century, pp. 396-439
9/23
Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Blithedale Romance, “Preface”-IX, pp. 37-97
RESEARCH PAPER DUE
9/25
Hawthorne, The Blithedale Romance, X-XIX, pp. 97-160
9/30
Hawthorne, The Blithedale Romance, XX-XXIX, pp. 160-218
10/2
Herman Melville, Moby-Dick, “Etymology”-“The Pulpit,” pp. 1-43
10/7
Melville, Moby-Dick, “The Sermon”-“Going Abroad,” pp. 44-91
10/14
Melville, Moby-Dick, “Merry Christmas”-“The Mast-Head,” pp. 91-135
10/16
Melville, Moby-Dick, “The Quarter-Deck”-“The Mat-Maker,” pp. 135-180
10/21
Melville, Moby-Dick, “The First Lowering”-“Of Whales. . . .”, pp. 180-225
10/23
Melville, Moby-Dick, “Brit”-“The Sperm Whale’s. . . .”, pp. 225-271
10/28
Melville, Moby-Dick, “The Right Whale’s. . . .”-“The Grand Armada,” pp. 271-316
10/30
Melville, Moby-Dick, “Schools and Schoolmasters”-“A Bower. . . .”, pp. 316-362
ARTICLE SUMMARY DUE
11/4
Melville, Moby-Dick, “Measurement. . . .”-“The Musket,” pp. 362-407
11/6
Melville, Moby-Dick, “The Needle”-“Epilogue,” pp. 407-452
11/11
Elizabeth Stoddard, The Morgesons, Chapters I-XI, pp. 5-54
11/13
Stoddard, The Morgesons, Chapters XII-XVIII, pp. 54-102
11/18
Stoddard, The Morgesons, Chapters XIX-XXV, pp. 102-152
11/20
Stoddard, The Morgesons, Chapters XXVI-XXXII, pp. 153-201
12/2
Stoddard, The Morgesons, Chapters XXXIII-XLI, pp. 201-253
12/4
Emerson, “Experience,” pp. 166-186
12/11
FINAL EXAM, 11-1
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